Pulse

By GCN Staff

Military boosts bandwidth with satellite launch

The military and its partners can expect a nearly 20 percent boost in secure communications bandwidth, thanks to the launch of WGS-7, Boeing’s latest Wideband Global SATCOM satellite.

Boeing is contracted to deliver 10 WGS satellites in all to the U.S. Air Force, and promises even greater bandwidth improvements. Starting with WGS-8, which is slated for a late-2016 launch, each wideband satellite will include a Next Generation Wideband Digital Channelizer, which will provide a more than 90 percent improvement in available satellite bandwidth. The first six WGS satellites are on-orbit and performing as expected, and Boeing said WGS-7 "sent its first successful signals soon after being launched" on July 22.

These satellites, which enable streaming and two-way video, are also capable of providing anti-jamming to soldiers around the world in highly contested areas. “WGS has the ability to shape some of its beams to a specific communications area on the globe," said Mark Spiwak, president of Boeing Satellite Systems International. "It also has the ability to move and pivot its communications beams to be able to follow communications users or to avoid jamming."